Thursday, October 25, 2012

The first chapter of “The Lost Civilization Enigma” is called “The New Inquisition”. It shows ample evidence of how elements of “Academic Science” have become the new inquisition: everyone who offers a diverging opinion about a subject and strays from “the accepted norm” is labeled a heretic and hunted down, by a small group of inquisitors, modernly labeled skeptics.
This topic was already in evidence in “The Ancient Alien Question”, especially how Science treats the work of astrobiologists that argue that life did not originate on this planet, but elsewhere in the universe. No matter how much evidence these scientists gather, their colleagues will make sure that the notion of earth-centered life remains the reigning paradigm by carefully using “peer review” to condemn and isolate the heretics.
Of course, material that paints a different picture of history and the mind are the most important topics to be attacked by the inquisition. Recently, the show Ancient Aliens was “countered” by a 190 minute YouTube documentary called “Ancient Aliens Debunked”. I wrote a rebuttal, known as “Debunking Ancient Aliens Debunked” to highlight some of the tactics and errors in this documentary. The producer of the documentary, Chris White, replied to this, by adding another Debunked to the headline of his piece. In usual skeptoid fashion, such replies are made within 24 hours and are more intent to continue a tit-for-tat debate than a well-balanced dialogue.
The focus of my rebuttal was on the Mitchell-Hedges skull, which according to most skeptics is of recent manufacture. In my rebuttal, I told White that the Mitchell-Hedges Skull had been investigated by Hewlett-Packard and the British Museum. He said that he knew about the latter, and had even included it in his documentary. He, however, referred to a report of 1936, but was clearly unaware of the expertise I was referring to, done in 1980, even though the sources he worked with, mentioned the 1980 expertise.
It is a typical skeptical attitude, to pretend to know, yet fail to realize you don’t know as much, for in truth, skeptics dip in and out of topics which they have done some basic Google searches on, unlike others, who spent years researching the material. White’s unfamiliarity with the material was also on display when he appeared on William Henry’s Revelations Stargate Radio, on October 24, 2012. White stated he never visited the sites like Puma Pumku and many others (but, of course, he did read about them! Wow!), and made repeated references to “someone” – as he had forgotten the name of the individuals involved. We all forget people’s names on occasion, but White forgot all of them – because he is so unfamiliar with them and their work.
White and other skeptics, like Jason Colavito, the latter who seems to be vying for the crown of James Randi, are great masters at searching sources briefly and feel that any material they find is perfect to “expose” the alternative hypothesis as faulty. That is of course not true. It merely reveals their lack of maturity in holding a debate and pretty much their ignorance of the subject matter. But specifically, what typifies them is a certain type of crusading zeal – which is why the best comparison to draw is with the inquisition. They go after those that stray from the path and are labeled heretics. In their eyes, I am indeed a heretic. We are ignorant, and out to deceive. Indeed, they truly believe, like the inquisitors of medieval times, that we are out to ensnare poor souls for evil purposes. The fact that I have long hair and am left-handed might actually – in their eyes – be the conclusive evidence I am in league with the devil.
In truth, the skeptics are modern zealots. This was so visible with Randi that it was apparent to everyone that Randi lacked all self-recognition – in fact, his brain should be given over to science so it can study it to find out what part of the brain is responsible for self-recognition, for it was clearly missing from Randi’s!
At this moment in time, these skeptics – and the best case example is Doug Weller – dominate such forums as Wikipedia. The modern inquisition is in power. Read the talk page of any Wikipedia entry he occupies, and you will see his religious zeal. In the case of the Bosnian Pyramid, there was a scientific conference in 2008, in which 30 of the leading Egyptologists, including the current Minister of Antiquities, were present. Weller labels this a conference on par with creationist conferences and feels the conclusions of this conference should not be put on the main Wikipedia page. Somehow, he actually manages in keeping it off there, and has done so for several years – just like for centuries, the inquisitors were able to suppress information from the likes of Galileo. Their tactics really belong in the halls of the Inquisition; it has nothing to do with a scientific debate, which should be about openness. Yet, Weller, Colavito and others believe they are the ones protecting science from evil intrusions and feel they are the proper scientists and defenders of science. They are, alas, the new inquisition.

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About Me

Philip Coppens is an author and investigative journalist, ranging from the world of politics to ancient history and mystery. He co-hosts The Spirit Revolution radio show with his wife Kathleen McGowan and is a frequent contributor to NEXUS Magazine and Atlantis Rising Magazine. Since 1995, he has lectured extensively and has appeared in a number of television and DVD documentaries, including Ancient Aliens: The Series (The History Channel). He is the author of nine English-language books, including The Stone Puzzle of Rosslyn Chapel, The New Pyramid Age, Servants of the Grail,Killing Kennedy, The Cryptogram of Rennes-le-Chateau, The Ancient Alien Question and The Lost Civilization Enigma.